Below are some photographs of the recent Duke of Edinburgh trips to the Mourne Mountains. Further photos can be found in the gallery section.

25/06/11 - Fun End to School Year

Pupils and staff were able to let their hair down on the last few days of term with participation in a series of activities/trips. The fun got underway with the Scripture Union party in school on Wednesday 22 June with music, games and dancing making it an enjoyable event. Many thanks to all the SU teachers for their commitment throughout the school year.

The following day saw pupils and staff travel to Gosford Forest Park in Markethill for the annual sponsored walk (see images below). Thankfully the weather was kind thus enabling a lot of energy to be used up! Pupils are reminded that any remaining sponsor money should be brought to Mrs Laverty in early September.

Two trips were available to pupils on Friday 24 June. Those involved in the SEP programme travelled to Sheep Bridge (Newry) for ten pin bowling and lunch with pupils from St. Paul's High School (Bessbrook) as a reward for their participation in the successful cultural diversity concert in April. Pupils not participating in the SEP trip had the opportunity to travel to Newry for a cinema visit and some shopping.

Finally a number of Year 11 and 12 pupils spent the week in the Mourne Mountains with teachers Mr A Chambers and Mr D Sloan as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.

It certainly was a busy end to what had been a great school year.

21/06/11 - ATTENTION Yr 12 Pupils

Year 12 pupils should return their completed 'Leaving Form' to the school office on or before Monday 27 June 2011. Birth Certificates will be returned once this form has been submitted.

17/06/11 – Statement: Newtownhamilton High School Canteen

The National Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS) was launched in Northern Ireland on 06/06/11. This scheme, which is run in partnership with local Councils and the Food Standards Agency Partnership, has the overall aim of improving food safety.

The scheme provides information on food hygiene to help you choose where to eat out or shop for food, by giving you information about the hygiene standards in restaurants, cafés, takeaways, hotels and other places you eat, as well as supermarkets and other food shops. The scheme also encourages businesses to improve hygiene standards.

The Central Meals Kitchen at Newtownhamilton High School was given a Hygiene Inspection Rating by Newry & Mourne District Council on 17/02/11. Ratings are given on a scale from 0 (urgent improvement necessary) up to 5 (very good). Please note that this rating is not a guide to food quality. The rating given to Newtownhamilton High School was 2 (improvement necessary) with structural requirement identified as the main cause of concern. Confirmation of this rating is available on the link below via the Newry & Mourne District Council website:

This matter was discussed at a Board of Governors meeting on 14/06/11 and an abstract from these minutes is listed below:

Under “Nutritional Standards” solely, Mrs Porter has been awarded “Outstanding”, an accolade that is not lightly earned. This recent poor grading (improvement necessary), directly caused by the dilapidated nature of the building in which she is compelled to work, had resulted in great personal distress for her as she is an honest, hard worker whose facilities are simply long past their sell-by date. Rev Wilson stated that Governors were aware of Sharon’s hard work. Governors were also appreciative of the efforts being made by SELB to address the situation and it was hoped that the feasibility study planned for the near future will produce a solution that will address the deficiencies in the Central Meals Kitchen – a facility that serves the entire community in south Armagh.

To conclude, I wish to reassure all parents and pupils that Mrs Porter and her dedicated team work hard to provide food that is nutritious, wholesome, imaginative, healthy and excellent value for money. There is an old proverb that “The proof of the pudding is in the eating” and I wish to state that I have been eating my break and lunch in the canteen every day for the past 15 years; I have total trust in our canteen ladies and I intend to continue to dine there as it has certainly done me no harm! I appreciate that there are issues relating to the inadequate canteen facilities but I repeat that we are currently working with the SELB to address these issues as soon as practicable in this era of financial stringencies.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any concerns over this matter.

G Mullan

Principal

15/06/11 - Sports Day

The recent heavy rain stayed away from Newtownhamilton on Wednesday 15 June thus allowing both pupils and staff to enjoy the annual Sports Day. Pupils participated in a number of track and field events with a list of all winners due to appear on this website soon. Pictures from this event have been added to the gallery section of this website.

15/06/11 - Year 11 Geography Field Trip

Year 11 Geography students recently travelled to study the Yellow Water River in Rostrevor in order to collect data for next year's controlled assessment. All students thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

15/06/11 - Orienteering Festival Year 8 Prizewinners

Year 8 prizewinners collect their medals and certificates at an award ceremony held at the Navan Centre. Alexandra Smyth, Louise Knight, Robert Mc Bride and Karolis Savinas all won places in the Orienteering Festival held in April at the Palace. Well done to all!

08/06/11 - Year 10 Oxford Island Habitat Studies

Year 10 went to Oxford Island to partake in habitat studies on Wednesday 8th June. Dressed in their waterproof gear, the pupils got to see and try out some sampling techniques used in biology, such as pond dipping, pitfall traps, pooters and quadrats. A good day was had by all!

08/06/11 - New Mobile Classroom Arrives

A team of workmen were on site on Wednesday 8 June to oversee the arrival of a mobile classroom that was sited at the rear of the school building.

Having carefully avoided the overhead electricity cabels, the mobile was lowered into position in 3 sections before being fitted back together again.The maintenance team now have a busy few weeks ahead of them ensuring that all paving, joinery, plumbing, electrical work and painting is completed so that the mobile can be used in September.

June 2010 also saw the arrival of a mobile classroom that was positioned at the front of the school and is now occupied by Miss V Hadden (Maths) - it is healthy sign to see a growing requirement for teaching accommodation.

03/06/11 - Year 8 History Trip

Year 8 pupils enjoyed a visit to Carrickfergus Castle on Thursday 2 June 2011 where they were able to take a step back in time and explore one of Northern Ireland’s most striking historical monuments.

This experience of living history enriched and consolidated the Year 8 pupils' understanding of the Norman conquest and introduced their new Unit of Work examining how and why these magnificent stone castles were built. On return to school pupils will also consider why it is important to preserve such historical sites for future generations.

02/06/11 - Taste & See @ SRC

29 pupils from Year 9 travelled to Southern Regional College (Newry) on Thursday 2 June to participate in the CCEA Taste & See programme.

This event comprised of 3 sessions of 1 hour and 20 minutes that gave pupils the opportunity to sample some of the Occupational Studies courses (Catering, Digital Technology, Joinery, Plastering, Retail, Sport and Tiling) on offer thus hopefully opening eyes and minds to future career possibilities.

Thanks to Mr J Black and Mrs S Coyle for providing supervision on the day. Visit our gallery for more pictures of this event.

01/06/11 - Year 8-11 Summer Exam Timetable

The Year 8-11 Summer Exam Timetable is now available either by clicking here or through the link on the home page. The exams will start on Thursday 9 June and finish on Tuesday 14 June.